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Category: small crossbody

Be still my heart. Seriously.

This beautiful little crossbody bag, with its soft, pebbled leather, gives me butterflies in my stomach. I fell in love with it at first sight. I tried to talk myself out of buying it, and all I succeeding in doing was making myself even more obsessed. Finally, it went on sale, and that was it–it was coming home with me.

What’s to love?

First off, the color, which Kate Spade New York calls “Grace Blue.” At first glance, it might appear a little preppy. Given that I’m known for never deviating from the ever-fashionable black bag, this is a huge departure for me. But it’s really not preppy. It’s a lot more like Tiffany Blue, and it has that same feeling of understated luxury. When augmented by the embossed Kate Spade NY logo and the little gold-plated spade, it just feels elegant. And it is.

Now, I’m the kind of girl that carries around the kitchen sink with me wherever I go. I mean, go ahead–ask me for a Tylenol, a tissue, a band-aid, a pen, a mint…you name it, I’ve got it. It’s an anxiety-reduction mechanism. I just want to be prepared for anything and everything. I don’t want to be caught in the middle of nowhere and get heartburn and have no heartburn medicine. And what if I need a hair clip, like, badly? If I don’t have one and everything goes frizzy on me, it could ruin my damn day.

So what do I want with a little bag like this, then?

Well, for starters, carrying around my huge satchel bag in Target for hours gives me a crick in my neck. It’s overkill for running to the nail salon. And what if I want to take a walk on the levees in Alviso, near my office? Ain’t no way I’m lugging that big bag with me. What’s more, I probably want my hands free in those situations. So this little crossbody beauty is just the trick.

I’m a sucker for pockets, too. Because mama like to be organized. This one doesn’t have a plethora of them. But it’s got one zippered pocket big enough for lip balm, a pen, and a few other things. And there’s this cool slip pocket that’s just the right size and width for a teeny little matching wallet. There’s that zip pocket on the front flap, too. But putting lumpy stuff in it kind of messes up the silhouette. Maybe it’s good for your credit cards, ID, receipts–that sort of thing.

Even after you cache your stash in those pockets, there’s still room inside the purse itself for cell phone, keys, hand sanitizer, a compact, and breath mints. What more could you need, right?

I also love the lining. All of the Kate Spade linings are cute. This one is the vertical black-and-white-striped soft poly. LOVE.

I bought this one last summer, and the color is pretty seasonal, so at the time of this writing (December 2016), I’m not seeing it on the Kate Spade site or in any of the big department stores. You can probably find one on ebay.